So I’ve been dealing with this concrete volleyball court behind my house, right? It’s murder on the knees. Yesterday I thought – screw this, let’s build something that doesn’t feel like jumping on a sidewalk. That’s how this whole shock absorbing thing started.

The Hunting Phase

First thing I did was rummage through my messy garage. Found some leftover engineered boards from that flooring project last year – those grooved ones that snap together. Grabbed my measuring tape and checked the dimensions against my court space. Came up short by two meters. Typical.

Drove down to the local hardware joint. Wandered those aisles forever hunting for rubber pads. Guy at the counter shrugged: “Try sporting goods?” Ended up at this sketchy athletic supply warehouse. Paid way too much for these foam rubber rectangles – they look like giant cheese blocks but supposedly absorb impact.

The Puzzle Assembly

Laid out everything in the driveway. Started with the wood planks – aligning the tongue-and-groove edges like some massive jigsaw puzzle. Got impatient and hammered one too hard. Snap. Went right through the edge. Had to trim off the damaged section with my circular saw – wood dust everywhere.

Fitted the foam pads underneath next. They didn’t line up with the wood seams properly. Had to mark out the board positions with chalk on each pad. Whipped out my utility knife and sliced chunks off the foam pads so they wouldn’t overlap. Sticky yellow foam crumbs stuck to my shoes for hours.

Laying & Testing

Carried sections onto the court like oversized sandwiches – foam layer on bottom, wood on top. Started snapping them together in the middle. Halfway through, realized I’d made the classic beginner mistake – forgetting expansion gaps. Had to unsnap two rows and push them apart with plastic spacers.

Finally threw my volleyball down to test the bounce. Not bad! Then I jumped on it myself – knees instantly went “thank you”. That weird foamy squish gives just enough cushion without feeling mushy. Still got this one squeaky spot near the center though – probably need to check the foam alignment there tomorrow.